Basis for

Communicable disease Non-communicable disease

Comparison

Meaning The disease spread from person to The disease which does not spread

another, they are 'catching' disease from one person to another through

and can be spread through the air, any mode.

water, etc.

Cause Caused by pathogens and considered Caused due to allergy, illness,

as highly infectious and vectors play malnutrition or abnormalities in cell

the major role in spreading disease proliferation, changes in lifestyle,

from one person to another. environment play a significant role.

Infecting Bacteria and virus. No infectious agent.

agent

Example Tuberculosis, AIDS, Typhoid, Cancer, Rickets, Allergies,

Cholera, Malaria. Kwashiorkor, Diabetes, Heart

disease, etc.

Inheritance This disease cannot be inherited from This disease can be inherited.

one generation to another.

Treatment Treated by conventional methods. Treated conservatively or surgically.

Type Acute (develops quickly). Chronic (develops slowly and last

for long-period).
 Basis for
Communicable disease Non-communicable disease
Comparison

Precautions 1.Wear mask wherever needed. 1.Should go for regular body

2.Wash your hands every time. checkup.

3.Avoid sharing one's belongings. 2.Maintain proper diet.

4.Stay away from the person who is 3.By doing exercise daily.

infected with any disease. 4.Take proper sleep and rest.

What are Communicable diseases?

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“Diseases that can easily be communicated from one organism to another, either
directly or indirectly, are known as communicable diseases”.

Communicable diseases are also known as contagious or transmissible diseases.

They get transmitted from one host to another either by direct or indirect means.

These diseases readily spread among a large group of individuals in a very short span
of time. For which they are referred to as mass killers.

Communicable diseases are not completely seasonal. But still, environmental

variations affect most of them.

For example, malaria spreads rapidly due to the humid rainy climate. This is due to the
fact that a humid climate is ideal for mosquito reproduction.

Global burden of communicable diseases

Communicable diseases impact a large proportion of the population overall the globe.
Several factors contribute to this widespread proliferation such as:

 Continuous migration
 National and international travels
 Environmental changes

Thus, such transmissible ailments become a threat to the health of the entire human
race.

Millions of people get infected, and thousand die due to these contagious diseases.
South Asia, Central Africa, North America and Europe are highly prone to such
diseases. These diseases impose a burden on the health of individuals. Also, they
hamper the economy and social well-being of any country.
 Transmission of communicable diseases
The transmission of these diseases can take place in two ways:

1. Direct transmission
2. Indirect transmission

1. Direct Transmission

Direct transmission spreads from one organism to another through direct close contact.

For example:

 Transfer of body fluids like a blood transfusion.

 Sexual transmission.
 Droplet inhalation.
 Oral/faecal transmission.
 Using the same syringe for drug consumption.
 Sometimes even through touch.

Note: Touching common surfaces like elevators, doorknobs, switchboards, etc. spread
these contagious diseases. For instance, the infection bearer sneezed on a surface.
This will leave the pathogen containing droplets there.
If a healthy man touches that surface, he might intake those pathogens by touching his
mouth or nose.
 2. Indirect Transmission

Indirect transmission requires the passage of pathogen through

the biotic or abiotic components.

Air, water, food are the prime abiotic factors. While vectors like flea, mosquito, fruit fly
etc. are potent biotic components.

Some pathogenic Communicable Diseases

 Bacteria: Whooping cough, gonorrhoea, tuberculosis.
 Viruses: Measles, hepatitis, AIDS.
 Protozoa: Malaria, dysentery.
 Fungi: Ringworm, candidiasis, athlete’s foot.

Incubation Period

When a pathogen enters a healthy individual, it takes time to multiply and adapt to the
internal environment. This period of time is called as the Incubation period.

There are no specific signs or symptoms of the disease during this time. As soon as
this time period expires, the diseases’ symptoms begin to manifest.

General stages of Communicable Diseases

There are four primary stages of any communicable disease:
 Exposure: In this duration, a person gets exposed directly or indirectly to the infected
person. Thus, it is an intake of the infection causing agent inside the healthy body.
 Incubation: At this stage, the virus adapts to its environment. Thereby it increases its
population in order to battle the host’s immune system.
 Infection: Here, the pathogen fights against your immune system. Thus, poses the
symptoms of the disease.
 Disease: When the immune system fails to combat the pathogen, the infection
grows to its full capacity. This produces bodily suffering and damages the relevant body
part.

Control and Prevention

These infectious diseases pose a significant hazard to public health worldwide. The
poor countries or even the developing ones suffer a lot due to:

 Inadequate healthcare facilities

 Lack of awareness
 Lack of hygiene

These issues make it mandatory to prevent these transmissible health hazards from
happening.

Certain preventive measures to control these diseases are:

 Maintain hygiene (especially where there is food and water)

 Clean and efficient healthcare facility to ensure the detection and control of the disease
at the early stage.
 Awareness among the common civilians about these diseases.
 Adequate drainage and sanitization

What are Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)?

Non-communicable diseases or NCDs are also referred to as chronic diseases. They
are non-transmissible, i.e. they are not conveyed from the carrier to the others by any
means of exposure.

These diseases might not travel from one to another, but that doesn’t mean they are not
hazardous. Contrary to communicable diseases, they last for a longer period of time.

Global Burden of Non-communicable Diseases

 According to the WHO, NCDs are responsible for almost 70% of all deaths worldwide.
This means that non-transmission diseases claim the lives of approximately 40-41
million individuals.
 The majority of this number comes from low and moderately developed countries.
According to recent studies, people between the ages of 30 to 70 are most vulnerable to
such diseases.
 This overgrowth is due to issues such as:
o Bad diets
o Excessive cigarette use
o Excessive alcohol consumption
o Physical inactivity
 Around 17-18 million individuals die only with the cardiac disorder which is a common
NCD.
 Cancer mortalities account for 9.5 million. Whereas respiratory deaths for 4.1 million,
and diabetes deaths for 1.5 million.

Risk factors of Non-communicable Diseases

a. Behavioural Risk factors

 Use of tobacco, active or passive smoking.

 Excessive use of salt or sodium in daily diet.
 Continuous exposure to harmful radiation like U.V. radiation.
 Coming in contact with chemicals for an extended period of time.

b. Inheritance

 The lineage of a genetic disorder in family background

 By congenital disability (birth defects) in the genetic make-up

c. Metabolic risk factors

 Physical inactivity
 Excessive cholesterol level or obesity
 Increased glucose content in the blood
 Hypertension

Examples of Non-communicable diseases

 Major examples of Inherited diseases

 Down syndrome – Due to change in chromosomal number.

 Cystic fibrosis- Due to mutation.
 Chimerism or Heterochromia- Increased amount of genetic information.

Examples of Metabolic diseases

 Cancer
 Diabetes
 Cardiovascular disorders like a heart attack or stroke
 Liver diseases
 Kidney malfunctioning
 Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD)
 Malnutrition

Control and prevention of Non-communicable diseases

 To reduce the influence of NCDs on the global society, there is a need for a
comprehensive approach. This approach should be applicable to a broad range of
populations. One of the effective ways to control NCDs is to lessen the risk factors
related to them.

Cheaper and efficient management of these diseases is a must for their eradication.
Early detection, screening and treatment of NCDs can prevent their explosion up to a
great extent.

Countries with less-developed healthcare facilities are at perpetual risk of NCDs. Thus,
the need to achieve adequate health facilities becomes essential.

Depending on the disease, we can treat NCDs by conservative method or with surgery.

Key Differences Between Communicable and

Non-Communicable Disease
1. Communicable diseases are acute diseases that progress quickly. They are contagious
as they can be transmitted can be directly or indirectly. They last for a shorter period of
time.
While Noncommunicable diseases are chronic diseases that progress slowly. They are
non-contagious. And occur due to changed lifestyle, environmental factors, or can be
hereditary.
They remain for a long duration in the body.
2. Examples of Communicable diseases are Diarrhea, flu, rabies, malaria, TB, cold, fever,
vomiting. Hypertension, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, muscles pain
are examples of Non-communicable diseases.
3. Causative agents are bacteria, viruses and parasites in Communicable diseases. On
the other side, there are no such causative agents for NCDs.
4. Maintaining hygiene, avoiding contact with infected persons are some preventive
measures for communicable diseases. Whereas taking proper diet, doing physical
workout etc. can prevent NCDs.

Conclusion
We can classify the diseases as communicable and non-communicable diseases based
on their contagiousness. Communicable ones get transmitted in a direct or indirect
manner. While NCDs are the ones that are not transmitted from one person to another.
 Both of them impose an equal burden on the health of individuals worldwide. Also,
these diseases can impact the social well being and the economic state of the country.
Thus, it becomes important to prevent them irrespective of their nature.

More Comparisons:
1. Difference Between Infection and Disease
2. Difference Between Acute and Chronic Disease
3. Difference Between Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease
4. Difference Between Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
5. Difference Between Diarrhea and Dysentery

Filed Under: Science

Reader Interactions
Comments

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